Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-26
INTERESTING STATISTICS.
Tho Length, Breadth, He:ght and Weight
of the Money in the Treasury.

The Length, Breadth, Height and weight
of the Money in the Treasury.
Washington dispatch to the PhilGdel-
phia Ledger says:
Few persons perhaps Who read the fire.
quentlv published reports CT the fiscal
operations of the government give any
consideration to the vastness and signlti-
canoe OF the operations. We reSd OF the
hundreds Of millions Of gold and silver in
the treasury, but how few persons have
any intelligent idea of what is embraced
in the nine figures required to describe
the liabilities and assets Of the govern
ment. Il is only when the auriferC Us
contents of the treasury vaults are weighed
and measured and placed by the side OF
articles and commodities th&t are daily
handled by the masses thSt 50 intelligent
comprehension can be obtained by the
people Of the financial strength of the
treastry-the great extent Of the govern
ment's fiscal operations.
fad by reference to the lates. pub
lished statement of Treasury assets and
liabilities thst among the assets was
| 1921, 29G, Az in gold, and nearly S25l,
000,000 il silver, including 34000,000 Ct
trade dollars and fractional coins. TAX
ing up these 28l,000, 0G0 OF gold and
placing them on the scales, | fad that the
gold held by the Treasury weighs 5l9
tons, and, if packed into ordinary carts,
one ION TO each cart, it would make {
proc, sson two miles long, allowing
twenty feet of space fer the movement OF
each horse and cart. The Weighing Of
the silver produces much more interest
/ iIg results. Running mis- ever TIE
scales | find its weight TO be 1896 tons,
Measuring It in carts, as ID TIE case oil
the gold, the silver now Eeld By the
Treasury would require the services Q!
1896 horses end carts to transport it, arc
would make procession over twenty
one miles in length.
The "surpluS," shout which so much is
said in the 0aily newspapers, emouuts to
nesrly 81, 000,0 900, an increase Of s. ,000,-
900 since July l. Counted as gold the
surplus would weigh eighty-SiX and one.
half tons; counted es silver ii would
weigh 1885 tons. Each million Of gold
adds 3GS5 pounds to the surplus aud each
million Ct silver adds $3.50 pounds. APP
plying cubic measurements To the treas.
ury gold and silver, and piling the two
metals on Pennsylvania Avenue as cord
wood is piled before delivery TO the pur-
chaser, | fiud that the gold would meas
ure 81 cords and the silver 400 cords, enc
! that both would extend frCm the Treas
I ury Department to Four-and a-half street
or from the treasury to the pension otfi3s
( in q straight line, and forming Il soliC
wall eight feet higl and four feet broad
for a distance OF seven elghths of mile
Extending these calculations and com
parsons to the Understanding debt
equally interesting results are obtained
The public debt reached the highest point
! in August, 1865, Just TWENTY-FIVE years
ago, when it was s., 1881, $3.50, 295. The
general reader will better appreciate ths
vastnesS of the sum when informed tina
it represents 20, 1876 tons of silver, which
would make procession Of carts tba'
would extend from Richmond, Va, to s
! point twelve miles north of Philadelphia
the distance it would thus cover being
2G6 miles. The interest-bearing debt il
now, not including the Pacific railroad
bonds, S ,00l, 1916, $50, showing that the
sum paid hiss been 81 1919, 553, 445, or more
| then one-hGlf of the total amount, enc
representing 40,637 tons Of silver dollsTs
which would extend 154 miles il packel
| in carts COntsining one ton each.
/ Reducing these figures 70 basis wher5
they may be intelhgenIy comprehended
and that the rapidly with which the
government hiss reduced its bonded debt
may be fully realized by the general
reader, | fnd that the reduction has been
at the average rate of S63, 706 915 each
| year, So, 225, 5Sl each month, Sl74 lS6 each
/ day, S725S each hour, and S120.47 for
every minute CT the entire twenty-five
years. Pursuing the calculation to the
smallest devisable spsce Of time, the
| bonded debt CT the United S:aees hiss
been decreased at the rate Of 50 and
mills for every second, or for every
swing of the pendulum, for the entire
period from August 81, 1865, to July 81
| 1887. This is en- exhibition of recupera
ton and material progress on the psrt OF
the country and oEstefaiDg honesty and
integrity on the part OF the government
and people that e without parallel in ths
tworld's histoRA L.